Dark Destiny 1x05 What Was and What Is
by Dark Destiny 1329
Summary: After Michael attacks the manor, Chris and Bianca lay dying. Can Wyatt find out what's wrong with both of them and heal them before it's too late? And what secrets will Chris and Bianca uncover along the path to death? [Full Summary Inside]
1. Scene One

**Dark Destiny Charmed Sons Virtual Series  
****Season One, Episode Five  
****What Was and What Is**

**Written by: Darien (aka alternate-universe-princess) and Shan (aka charmedgrl4ever)**

**Full summary: This Michael character seems to be a bigger threat than Chris had originally anticipated. After he attacks the manor, not only is Bianca unconscious and dying; but Chris's life is now at stake as well. Can Wyatt find out what's wrong with both of them and heal them before it's too late? And what secrets will Chris and Bianca uncover along the path to death?**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Chris, Wyatt, or Bianca (or any other cannon characters we forgot to mention). We do, however, own Prue, Jenna, Mack, Parker, Peyton and Talia (and any other original characters we forgot to mention) and would appreciate it if you didn't steal our characters without (A) asking our permission and (B) giving us the credit for them. Thank you!**

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* * *

Scene One**

Chris Halliwell paced the floor of the attic and again called for his brother. "Wyatt!"

He'd tried getting Bianca to drink some water in a weak attempt to wake her from her catatonic state, but it hadn't helped – not that he'd expected anything to happen. When that failed, he climbed the stairs to the attic in the hopes that the Book of Shadows might hold the answers for which he searched. Of course, knowing his luck, Chris wasn't too surprised when his precious Book gave him no insight as to what was wrong. He didn't know why he bothered leafing through those crisp, aging pages anyway; he already knew it all by heart.

And now he was left with only one other option: calling for Wyatt to try to get him to heal her.

"Wyatt!" he screamed to the ceiling. "Whatever you're doing, get down here now!"

About to yell again, his mouth closed when Wyatt orbed in, Jenna and Talia in tow.

"It's about time! I've been looking all over for you! Where were you?" Unwilling to give his brother the chance to explain, Chris continued his furious rant. "Bianca's totally lost it, and I need your help to get her out of her head."

_Okay,_ Jenna thought in total confusion; _what the hell is that supposed to mean?_ She tried to voice her question, but Chris barely paused long enough to take a breath.

"Come on, Wyatt, she's acting really strange. I'm pretty sure the demon did something weird to make her… I don't know – just… something," said Chris.

Apparently, Wyatt shared Jenna's bewilderment. "Okay, you're not making much sense. What exactly happened to her?" he demanded worriedly.

Chris opened his mouth to respond, but a squeak of surprise from Talia stopped him. The first to notice the demon in the room, she blanched, turning pale and pressing into her sister's side for security. Behind Chris stood the man in black, the man who had kidnapped her, the man who had almost succeeded in murdering her. A tiny, muffled whimper slipped past slack lips. Any and all words got caught in her throat, tightening into a firm knot around her fear.

"Who are you?" Wyatt snarled, suddenly on the offensive. He stopped in front of Jenna and Talia (if Jenna hadn't been frozen in terror, she'd have smiled at his thoughtfulness) and readied an energy ball. Though he preferred squeezing answers out of him first, if need be, he could vanquish the demon in an instant.

A smirk marred the demon's young features, twisting them into some contorted, hideous odium. "Their end," he said as Chris recognized the reviled voice and whirled around to face his fiancée's attacker. Green eyes widened – then narrowed with righteous fury.

Michael cut his hand through the air and waved it extravagantly in Chris's direction. A wave of pale, orange light washed across the room and seemed to enter the younger Halliwell's body. With a low moan of fatigued pain, Chris collapsed to the floor like a sinking stone.

As Michael smiled, Jenna was reminded of her favourite character in Alice and Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat. Seeing it now – used with such sadistic pleasure – she shuddered and decided she could never again read her favourite childhood book without superimposing Michael's image into her mind.

"And now," added the demon, and Jenna wondered what more evil he could possibly offer, "his memories will kill him – just like Bianca's are killing her." As the trio was left contemplating how this demon knew Bianca's name, he vanished from the room.

Enraged, Wyatt hurled the energy ball towards the wall and then dropped to his brother's side with a sense of urgency. "Chris!" he shouted in desperation, eyes falling over Chris's form and searching for open wounds. "Damn it," he cursed, shaking the younger man's shoulders ardently. "Chris!" he called out again, but it was no use. His brother wouldn't wake.

* * *

_Chris was still in the attic; of that he was certain. But where were Wyatt, Jenna, and Talia? The demon must have done something to him, teleported him to some other time or place. _

_Calmly – he never lost his cool under stress – he walked over to the Book of Shadows and flipped it open, slowly leafing through the pages. He searched for something, though he didn't know what it was. He wondered why he was looking, what he was doing, why he wasn't worried; but his body refused to react to his questions. Before his eyes passed page after page, demon after demon; and yet he never seemed satisfied with any of them. They weren't what he was searching for._

_The floorboard creaked loudly, and Chris glanced up to make sure the small, blond toddler was still sitting in the playpen across the room. Where had the baby come from, and why did it suddenly seem so normal?_

"_Hello?" Chris called out cautiously. No response came… but that didn't mean no one was there._

_For the time being, Chris decided to ignore his suspicions – ignore his instinct screaming at him that something was wrong with the scene – and return his gaze to the Book. Just as he did so, the floor groaned again; it sounded like muffled footsteps, but who was there?_

"_Okay," he murmured decisively, walking over to the playpen, "it's time to get you out of here." He spoke quickly, tersely, and then reached into the pen to heft the child into his arms. Suddenly, a powerful, invisible force had him slamming into the wall across the room. With a '_crash' _he landed on top of the old, wooden table._

_Out of thin air, a bearded man appeared beside the playpen, eyes cool and calculating. Sorrowfully, he spared a glance for the fallen whitelighter. "Don't make me sacrifice you _both_," he hissed, making it clear what his intentions were with the baby. Quickly, he bent down to pick up the toddler; but Chris stopped him, raising his hand and frantically throwing him across the room with his telekinesis._

_With a remorseful grimace, the older man conjured an athame and again dematerialized._

_A small part of him wondered where the man had vanished to, but it was instantly shoved aside as he clamoured to his feet and scrambled towards the toddler, intent on saving him before the guy returned. Before he reached the boy, the man reappeared at Chris's side. The athame in his hand slid easily into Chris's gut, and the young whitelighter's legs collapsed beneath him, useless._

"_Dad!" he cried out in a haze of panic and agony. Oh god, Wyatt – Wyatt, he had to save Wyatt._

* * *

Realizing his current actions were useless, Wyatt stopped shaking Chris and sat back on his heels. Instead he quietly pleaded, "Come on... wake up..." 

Almost as a response, warm blood began to spread across Chris's shirt, just above his stomach.

Stunned and confused, Wyatt instantly leaned forward and put a hand over the bloodied spot on his brother's shirt. Underneath it he could feel a large, jagged wound slicing its way down Chris's stomach.

Wyatt's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Just what had that demon done to him?

"Bianca," Chris moaned. "Bianca..." Sweat broke out on his paling skin.

Suddenly snapping to attention, Wyatt jerked back then rocked forward again. He shook his head quickly and extended his hands out over his brother's prone form. The familiar golden healing glow spread out over Chris but to no avail: Chris remained motionless, groaning feebly.

"No..." Wyatt cursed quietly, "No... this has to work..." He jerked his hands away then quickly spread them out over Chris's body again. Again, the allegedly lifesaving glow spread out from his hands – and again, it had no effect on Chris's fatal injuries.

Talia stood a few feet away, watching. At first, she wondered what Wyatt was doing and what exactly the demon had done to Chris, but as soon as she saw Wyatt's hands begin to glow she assumed that he was using some sort of healing power. It seemed odd to her that her powers could so easily be used for destruction while his were clearly for helping others. She watched in awe for several seconds, not understanding that Wyatt's healing powers weren't working.

After one last attempt at healing Chris, Wyatt spoke up. "Talia, I need you to go downstairs and search the house. You have to find Bianca. This demon – whoever he is – I think he's after both of them. She should be here, and she's probably affected with the same thing he is." He sat back on his heels again and sighed, his eyes never wavering off of Chris.

Talia nodded and made her way downstairs. For the first time ever, she felt sorry for Wyatt. He had to deal with this – she cringed just thinking about it – near death stuff all the time. And now she feared her life would be the same. She had to admit: the thought of that scared the piss out of her.

Running on adrenaline alone, she ran down a flight of stairs and stood in the hallway gasping for breath. Methodically, she moved from room to room, throwing open one door after another. Each empty room brought her closer to tears. Where could Bianca possibly be? And… could they already be too late?

The moment she realized Bianca wasn't there, she flew down the next set of stairs. At the bottom she paused to catch her breath, doubling over painfully. A bitter, metallic tang reached her nostrils and she cringed. When she raised her gaze to the living room, it took her heart a second to remember what its job was. There, pooling on the floor, leaked blood. And Bianca lay beside it.

"Oh no," she whispered, voice catching in her throat as she took in the scene. Bianca was shaking, and her skin was pale and cold to the touch, clammy. Talia didn't know much about biology or the human body (that was more Jenna's thing), but it didn't take a lot to know that _that_ wasn't a good sign. Talia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She'd never seen so much blood before, and the sight of all of it was almost enough to make her throw up. Gingerly, and fighting down powerful waves of nausea, she picked Bianca up and began to carry her up to the attic so Wyatt could heal her.

Halfway to the first set of stairs, Talia realized her "brilliant" plan wasn't so ingenious after all. As gently as she could, she rested the ex-assassin's limp form on the floor and crouched down beside her. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she squeezed her eyes shut and willed her body to change. Nothing. "Trigger... trigger... what was the trigger?" she mumbled to herself. Anger, right? The need to protect. That was what Wyatt had said, wasn't it? Talia focused on drawing out those emotions, but it didn't work. All she felt was terrified and grossed out. "Panther! I want to be a panther! Why doesn't it work?" she groaned. Again, she tried to focus on her emotions. To make her powers work according to her will.

_Come on, damn it!_ she thought furiously. _I need this to work – now!_

A second later, her form changed from that of a human girl to that of a black panther. Her lips curled up in the form of an unpanther-like smirk as she thought,_ Finally! Okay, right, focus..._

She stuck her head under Bianca's side, trying not to growl at the blood that dribbled down her sensitive snout. Lifting her head and angling her shoulders, she somehow managed to roll Bianca's body over her head and onto her back so that Bianca was lying horizontally across her back, just below her shoulders. She walked slowly up the first few steps, making sure that the body wouldn't slip backwards as she went. Luckily for both their sakes, Bianca's body was just long enough to hang off of both sides of Talia's narrow frame so that she wouldn't fall. She could feel Bianca's breathing slow and become more erratic with each stair she climbed and knew that the girl didn't have long. Biting back the urge to howl before running, Talia raced up the steps to the second floor. She passed by the second floor in a mad dash and crashed into the attic, smacking her head on the partly closed door as she entered. Hurriedly and with much panic in her eyes, she raced over to Wyatt and knelt to let Bianca's body roll to the floor beside Chris. Wyatt nodded at Talia as a form of thanks and stretched his hands out over her body, hoping in vain to heal her. Talia purred, stretched and walked over to where Jenna was standing. Arching her back, she began to change back to her human form, a significantly easier feat than the first.

"It's... taking a long time, isn't it?" she whispered to Jenna.

"Uh-huh," Jenna mumbled weakly. She nodded and continued to stare at Wyatt, absolutely amazed. _...That's magic_, she thought, awestruck. She'd seen magic before – she'd even used her own powers a few times before, though mostly by accident. But what Wyatt was doing just now was somehow different. _Magic in its purest form, _she thought, a simple smile lighting up her features.

She watched him for a few moments until she realized what her sister had discovered a few moments ago. Something wasn't right. It wasn't working. Wyatt continued to pour all of his energy into trying to heal the two of them, but they remained as lifeless as ever.

Slowly, she sidled over to Wyatt, keeping her eyes on Chris as she watched him carefully for signs of life. All she could tell was that his breath was coming in short gasps, and she guessed he didn't have more than minutes to live. What had happened to make him fall? She hadn't seen anyone attack, and there was no blood. What could have happened? Was this demon person really so powerful that he could simply kill someone with a flick of his wrist?

She was assuring herself as much as Wyatt when she said, "He'll be okay."

Silently, she moved closer to Wyatt to transfer some of her courage to him, all thoughts of flirting aside. This was too important to worry about her crush; Chris's life was at stake.

"It's not working." Wyatt sighed, shaking his head and standing. Using up his magic as much as he just did had exhausted him, and as a result he nearly collapsed. Shakily, he reached out and placed a hand on Jenna's shoulder to steady himself. He closed his eyes for a moment to try to regain his strength before standing up to his full height again.

"They haven't got much time, and I can't heal them." His voice was dry and cracked, a mere croak. "They're... connected somehow. That demon – he must have some sort of power of..." He sighed, "I have no idea. Some power that does..." he waved a hand and Chris and Bianca, "...this. And healing isn't working... there's got to be another way... there's got to be..." Wyatt choked back his tears and stopped short of gasping for breath.

"So... what do we do now, then?" asked Jenna. Without entirely realizing she was doing it, she rubbed the shoulder that Wyatt had touched, it still tingled after his fingers fell away. A smile tugged at her lips as she thought about Wyatt touching her again… but deliberately this time.

_Snap out of it!_ she commanded herself angrily. This was no time to be acting like this, not when Chris and Bianca's lives were at stake! How many times did she have to tell herself that?

_Maybe I can't stop thinking about him because we're meant to be together,_ another part of her countered. _You can't change what's destined to be._

_Shut up, _her first side growled._ Later. Now we've got to save Chris and Bianca._

"Well," Wyatt sighed, "the only thing to do now is to check if the Book says anything about that demon. Maybe that'll help us somehow." Quickly, he walked over to the Book of Shadows and started flipping through its pages, looking for any entries on a demon like the one that had attacked Chris and Bianca.

* * *

Bianca could feel herself spinning and falling and twisting like she was caught in a dark, all-consuming web. She could still feel things from the outside world, like the hard wood of the floor underneath her or the bitter coldness of the air around her, but she didn't quite understand where she was or what was going on. She could also sense something, someone, lying next to her. After a moment, not that she could accurately tell how long it had been, she assumed it was Chris. She tried to form words, tried to communicate, but soon found out that her lips wouldn't move. So, without really knowing it, she reached over and managed to grab his hand with hers. She squeezed his hand with all the strength she had left and never wanted to let go. However, a second later, her hand went limp once again and the darkness took over.

* * *

_TBC..._


	2. Scene Two

**Scene Two**

_The door to the attic creaks open, and Bianca cautiously peeks her head inside. "Don't tell them anything," she repeats calmly, wondering why Chris is being so difficult. She sighs and has to remind herself that he's about to leave everything behind; she could stand to be a little patient. "Just stick to your cover story. The less they know about the future, the better."_

_Still unconvinced, Chris asks, "But what if they find out who I really am?"_

_Once sure no demonic guards are there to jump them, Bianca steps farther into the attic, unhooking the red, velvet rope and stepping into the restricted area. "They won't." She paused – then adds, "Not as long as you can pass yourself off as their whitelighter."_

"_And you're sure I won't lose my powers when I go back?" he wonders._

"_Yeah, not with this spell; that's why we need it." Noticing his restlessness, she offers a weak smiles and attempts to reassure her fiancée. "Look, just remember: Protect baby Wyatt and you protect the Charmed Ones. Keep them alive for _our_ future."_

_He scoffs – how exactly was that supposed to encourage him? "Great. No pressure _there_." He takes a step towards the love of his life, the floor creaking under his feet._

_Suddenly, Bianca wasn't so sure Chris wanted to go through with their plan anymore – _his_ plan for all intent and purposes. "Chris, you know you're the only one who can do this!" she murmurs to him. "You're the only one who can save."_

"If_ I make it back," he replies darkly, and she swallows. Hard._

_Forcing herself to forget the risks involved, she smiles sweetly. "Baby, you have to make it back… if"—she draws out the word seductively—"you want to marry me." She steps forward and kisses him gently, sweetly, beautifully._

_When they step away from one another, he grins, eyebrows raised. "You really know how to motivate a guy, you know that?"_

_Bianca laughs and drags him to the Book of Shadows. Only… it isn't the real Book; it hasn't been for a few years now. All that's left of the ancient tome is a hologram – Wyatt has the real deal now, and he doesn't plan on sharing it. The assassin runs her hand through the hologram. "You're sure you can summon the real Book?" she asks, worried._

"_Yeah," Chris replies resolutely._

"_Away from him?" she presses in concern. Wyatt was _not_ a force to be trifled with._

"Yeah_," Chris answers firmly. "But we won't have much time once he gets here." He wasn't worried for himself but for her safety. If anything happened to her, he'd never forgive himself. "His demons will be all over us."_

"_We won't need much time," she promises. "Just long enough to send you back to them."_

And then?_ Chris wonders, though he refuses to voice it and make his concerns real. _What happens to Bianca when I'm gone?

_Bianca digs a fat, weather-beaten piece of chalk from her pocket and crosses the room. Reaching up as far as she can, she starts an outline of a Triquetra on the wooden boards… a Triquetra that should have already been there, but one Wyatt had destroyed a few years after his mother's death._

_As Chris always did when he was nervous, he began to fidget. "Hurry…"_

_Bianca draws the last bit and nods, tossing the chalk aside and wiping the dust from her hands. "It's time," she sighs heavily, watching him through forlorn, brown eyes._

_He stares back at her with an expression of pain and desperation – and a bit of fear mixed in as well. "I don't want to go," says almost urgently. "I don't want to leave you."_

I don't want you to leave either_, she thinks as she wiggles the ring he'd just given her off her finger. She placed it in his hand and curled his fingers over it with her own. A fleeting expression of bewilderment passes over his face before she explains, "Here: This'll remind you of why we're doing this, of what's waiting for you here."_

_She sighs again and finds it a bit harder to breathe without crying. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she drops her eyes to the floor. Without moving, he closes his eyes and holds her to him for an eternity that doesn't last nearly long enough._

_When reality finally returns to the young couple, Chris finally says, "You just make sure you take care of the guards, okay?" He pulls back, gravely looking her in the eye. "Then get out of here – because if he finds you, if he knows you betrayed him… he'll kill you."_

"_Don't worry," she half-laughs, though her stomach is tying itself into painful knots. "Come on, I can take care of myself."_

_He nods, biting his lip, and leans forward to touch his forehead to her own. Again, she drops her gaze to the floor and sighs. A second later he backs away, knowing if he doesn't do it now he might never be able to, and walks over to the holographic Book. He lets out a long, slow breath and pulls a ragged, torn piece of paper from his pocket. Unfolding it, he reads the spell that was scrawled messily onto it. If he hadn't written it in the first place, he would never be able to read it at all._

_Casting a significant glance at Bianca, he begins to chant:_

"_I call upon the ancient powers  
__To help us in this darkest hour  
__Let the Book return to this place  
__Claim refuge in its rightful space."_

_They both wait with bated breath for the spell to take effect. Suddenly, the real Book of Shadows drops like a stone from the ceiling and lands upon the podium, squashing the hologram out of existence._

"_It worked," Chris mumbles, shocked that Wyatt hasn't yet placed spells to guard his precious Book of Shadows against his brother. Just because Chris turned to his side and pretended to have turned evil doesn't mean Wyatt should trust him. Chris assumes Wyatt would have learned that by now._

"_The spell!" Bianca cries, dragging him from his reverie. "Find the spell!"_

_Cursing himself for forgetting they are on limited time, he flips open the Book to find the spell for which they're searching. After what seems like forever, he finds it – right where he always knew it would be. He begins to chant, eyes riveted on Bianca with a sense of longing. Oh god, how could he just leave her behind?_

"_Hear these words, hear the rhyme_

_Heed the hope within my mind_

_Send me back to where I'll find_

_What I wish in place and time."_

_They both look at each other for a second before the portal explodes in a beautiful array of blue lights. Chris steps towards it, and she watches him, stepping away from the Book as if she might follow him to the past. It would be so much easier if she could just run away with him, if they could live in peace for the rest of their lives – hopping around time to wherever or whenever they wanted. Chris looks back one last time to capture and protect this scene in his mind forever: the last time he will ever see Bianca in the world in which they lived. The next time – if they are lucky – it will be in a world neither Chris nor Bianca has ever known._

_Suddenly, a demon shimmers behind her._

"_Bianca!" he shouts as a warning, but her keen, assassin senses have already picked up the shimmer. _

_Grabbing the demon by the arm, she whirls him around. She kicks him in the gut, effectively driving him to the floor as all the wind bursts out of his lungs. "Go!" she shouts over her shoulder to Chris. She glares at him, icy daggers piercing his heart. "Go!" her voice begs._

_The demon knocks her feet out from under her so that she joins him on the floor. She scrambles to her feet – gracefully, of course – and holds the demon down. Again, she shoots Chris a painful glare, wordlessly imploring that he leave. Shaking his head at what he's about to do, he turns around and hurries into the portal without a word. It closes behind him, and she returns her attention to the demon._

"_Forget this," she mutters in frustration. Drawing up an energy ball in her left hand, she hurls it at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. Flames dance around his body, and his screams echo in the empty attic. Instantly, she glances around the room, seeking out any other threats. When she finds none, she shrugs and shimmers away._

_Or tries to. Something pulls her back, and she has a dreaded feeling that she knows what – or who – it is._

"_Did you really think you would get away with that?" sneers a dark, empty voice. Wyatt steps forward and it takes all of Bianca strength not to shudder in trepidation._

_She says nothing as he strides over to her, furiously slapping her across the face. "Did you think I wouldn't _notice_?" he shouts, enraged. The calm he portrays to his minions is gone now, replaced with white-hot anger and reckless, power-mad lust. Bianca liked him better with his cold indifference._

"_Doesn't matter," she forces past her lips. "You can't touch him now."_

"_Ah, now that's where you're wrong. I'll just have to make _you_ go back to find him." Bianca almost laughs, wondering why Wyatt would think it'd be that easy – she stopped listening to him a long time ago. He walks purposefully over to the Book, staring down at the page. Bianca curses herself for not having the sense to close it beforehand. "Ah, so this is the spell he used. Well, I'll just have to say it again and make you go fetch him for me, now won't I?" He opens his mouth to recite the spell._

_Her cutting voice stops him. "I won't do it." Mimicking him, she folds her arms over her chest and matches his glare with a deathly one of her own._

"_Yes you will," Wyatt replies plainly._

_She feels like she's five again, fighting over sharing her favourite toy; and she wonders how the ruler of the world can be such a spoiled brat. "No. I won't."_

_Wyatt orbs behind her, the darkness in the power reminding her of the contrast between him and her fiancée. An athame is pressed to her neck, hard enough for her to feel the coolness of the blade but not enough to draw blood. Yet._

"_You will or I will kill you, and then I'll send someone else to kill him." His voice is as cold and hard as the blade against her neck._

"_And what if I still won't do it?" she chokes out, knowing that she probably will. Though she cares nothing for her own life, to have someone kill Chris would devastate her. If she goes, she can warn him; they could run away together and hide in the past the way she imagined._

"_Oh, you will," he replies knowingly and steps back a few inches – enough so that she can move but at the same time still feel his hot, chilling breath down her neck._

"_And what if I decide to run?" she snarls, heart beating furiously._

"_You can," he sneers. "There's not a place in the world you can go that I can't find you." He orbs away, leaving her with words echoing through the room – with words and a feeling of emptiness that can never be filled._

_She shudders and shimmers away._

_When she lands, she finds herself standing in an undistinguished graveyard. Walking over to one of the many graves in a line, she collapses to the ground. "Oh," she whimpers, sniffling, "what am I going to do?" Through teary eyes she reads the plaque in front of her. Victor Bennett: Died – 2024._

_Since Chris always held his grandfather in the utmost regard, Bianca came to treasure his personality and decisions as well. "What would you have done?" she wonders aloud. "What do I do? Help me, please – help me. I can't do this on my own." Biting her lip to force back painful tears, she lies down on her stomach, ignoring the prickling of the grass against her skin. She glances around at the nine graces in front of her, each bearing a simple, tarnished, stone plaque. The name "Halliwell" or "Matthews" burns each one like a brand. The last two gravestones say "Jenna Beckett" and "Talia Beckett" respectively._

_A few minutes pass in comfortable silence before Mack shimmers behind her, but Bianca doesn't turn around. "Hey," he murmurs, "figured I'd find you here." He walks over to Talia's grave and stares down at it, eyes filling with sorrow. "So you sent him back, then?" he asks, voice hoarse. Though he tries to hide them, Bianca's keen eyes don't miss the few tears that drop down his cheeks and shatter on the headstone._

"_What? How'd you know?" Bianca demands, worried. "Does _everyone_ know?" She climbs to her feet, brushing the grass off her clothes._

"_No," he reassures, "only Peyton, Parker, and I know. It was kind of obvious you'd do something like that, and I know Chris would never vanquish his own brother. Hell, I'd have trouble doing it; and I never even knew the guy before all this. The rest of them don't know Chris is gone; they still want to vanquish Wyatt." He shields his eyes against the sun and takes a while to continue, his words low, almost whispered. "I have to say: I'm starting to agree with them." His tone sounds bitter, jaded. He stares down at Talia's grave and sighs, crouching next to it and slowly running his fingers over the name._

"_You don't think…" Bianca's afraid to hear the answer. "It was obvious to Wyatt, do you?"_

"_Does that mean he knows?" Somehow, Bianca imagines Mack isn't so surprised to hear that._

_She nods and listens to his mournful sigh. "Well, I doubt he was smart enough to figure out what was going on before it happened. He probably just sensed that you guys were using big magic and tracked you down."_

_Not for the first time, Bianca wonders why Mack always seems to underestimate Wyatt. Shaking her head, she replies, "We took the Book. He knew the second it disappeared that it was us."_

_There was a brief silence. "Well, what did he say?"_

_As she spoke, she forced her voice not to crack. "He said… that either I go back and get Chris or he kills me and sends an assassin after Chris."_

"_Good." Bianca is surprised to hear Mack's grimly satisfied tone. "We can work with that. Go to Wyatt; tell him you'll do it. Better yet – make him think you've turned back to evil. Then, you can go get Chris and – with him – we can vanquish Wyatt. We can't do it without him. We'll need his magic if we're going to succeed."_

"_Vanquish Wyatt?" Bianca shakes her head, and several blades of grass drift loose from her hair. "Chris'll never go for that."_

"_He has to; we have no other choice. We've tried everything else. We have to vanquish Wyatt. We can't let him kill any more people, not when he's already killed so many."_

"_I know, it's just…" Bianca trails off, dropping her gaze to her feet._

"_Bianca?" He murmurs her name as if he's asking a question, and it reminds her of the way Chris used to speak. Oh god, she misses him._

"_Mmm…" she mumbles, lips pursed together in a desperate endeavour to hold back her tears._

_As if he has heard what she's been thinking, Mack says, "He'll be all right."_

"_I hope so," Bianca whispers. Tears track down her cheeks, and she tries to flick them away – first with her fingers and then with her fists. It doesn't help. Only Chris could ever stop her tears._

* * *

Wyatt looked up from the Book of Shadows and stared at his brother. He knew Chris didn't have a lot of time left, and yet he hadn't been able to track down any leads as to what to do. He let out a long sigh and went back to searching through the Book, though he'd already been through it one and a half times with no result. If Chris were awake, he'd know what to do – he knew the damn Book backwards and forwards. Of course, if Chris were awake, Wyatt wouldn't need a plan to begin with. 

"Find anything?" asked Jenna as she walked over to stand next to Wyatt. Up until now she'd just been pacing the floor while Talia had been sitting by the window, alternating between staring blankly out the window and watching Chris and Bianca.

"No, there aren't any entries in here on the demon we're facing and there isn't anything about what sort of powers he has, either."

"Oh," said Jenna, feeling slightly less than completely useless. Frowning, she looked from Wyatt to Chris and back to Wyatt. There had to be something she could do...

Jenna walked over to Talia and grabbed her arm, forcefully getting her to her feet. "Come on," she nearly whispered, "they must have some first aid stuff here somewhere. We've got to do something."

"But we don't even know what we're—" Talia started before Jenna forcefully dragged her from the room.

In the bathroom on the second floor, they found a cupboard under the sink stacked with enough supplies for a small army.

"Uh, does it creep you out at all that they're so well prepared for this?" asked Talia as she grabbed absolutely everything she could find.

"Well prepared? There are two people possibly dying upstairs. How could anyone ever be well prepared for that?" Carefully, Jenna picked through the things Talia dropped, picking up only what she thought they'd need.

"Well, I'd say they have a pretty good head start. There are probably entire villages that don't have this many supplies." Hastily, Talia kicked the cupboard shut and made her way to the stairs and the attic, items falling from her over-stuffed arms with each step.

Jenna stayed a few feet behind her sister, stooping to pick up anything important she might have dropped. "So I take it I'm not the only one who's still having trouble with the idea that magic exists?" she asked.

"No," Talia replied sharply, "it's the fact that it's so freaking dangerous that's freaking me out!"

Jenna started to laugh, really laugh for what felt like the first time in years. However, the laughter died in her throat the instant they reached the attic and the jarring reality of what was happening hit her all over again. All seriousness now, she stepped in front of Talia and walked over to Chris. "I'll take him, you take her," she commanded. Not wasting a second more she lined up the items she'd brought upstairs with her and got to work, gently lifting Chris's shirt to clean and dress the wound underneath it.

Talia nodded and walked over to Bianca, dropping the items she'd held in a pile and doing her best to bandage up Bianca.

In her foggy, dream-like state, Bianca groaned. "We tried to..."

But no one heard her.

* * *

_Bianca and Mack shimmer into a dusty, old apartment._

_In front of them sit Parker and Peyton, huddled close together for the warmth the room lacks. At one point the apartment was beautiful, warm, friendly – a home. That feeling had long since vanished, though; and now the broken, dirty furniture reminds Bianca of the outside world. Windows are cracked, and the walls and floors are covered in scorch marks from hasty vanquishes._

_The room is dead silent; Parker and Peyton glare daggers at Bianca._

_Peyton storms over to Bianca and slaps her. Hard. "What did you think you were doing?" she demands, voice filled with panic and horror at what she had just done._

"_I—we—we," Bianca stutters, shocked at the young girl's outburst. "We were trying to save Wyatt." Wasn't it obvious?_

"_You were, were you?" Peyton almost sneered, a tone so unlike the innocent child Bianca had always known to be Peyton Halliwell. "And how is getting one of the only three family members I have left _killed _going to accomplish that?"_

"_That's enough, Peyton," Mack says sharply._

"_Yeah, well, what do you know?" she mutters darkly, fury fading quickly to be replaced with exhaustion._

"_I know that she was only trying to help, and I know that you getting angry isn't going to help," he states calmly, staring her down._

"_Yeah, well," she repeats, trailing off and running a hand through her waist-length hair. "What are we going to do now?"_

"_Well, the most important question is," Parker finally jumps in, stepping off of the decrepit couch, "does Wyatt know?"_

"_Unfortunately, yes." Bianca cringes, expecting another eruption from Peyton, and continues when she hears none. "He found out as soon as we took the Book. He orbed in just after Chris left and told me that I have to go and bring him back or he'll kill me and then send someone else to go back and kill Chris." She backs up a few steps, but Mack puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her. He pulls her forward again, dragging her closer to the two cousins._

"_Well, we can't let him," Parker says firmly, as if the solution is as simple as that. "We _won't_ let him. Much as I hate to say it – and as much as I wished you'd told me – it really is the best plan. If we have a chance, any chance at all, to change all this"—she waves her hands around the apartment as if illustrating her point—"then we have to take it."_

"_It'll never work; it's too late," Mack argues. "We have to send Bianca back to Wyatt, get him to think she's evil again, get him to think she's on his side, and get him to send her back so she can bring Chris back and we can vanquish Wyatt. I know it's not the best – or actually, it's quite possible the worst of situations – but we've got to work with what we've got."_

"_So now you want to send yet _another_ person that I love – we all love – off to her death? No, I will _not_ let you do that. I won't. And you're not going either; none of us are going. Chris has already gone back, and that's enough. He can change the past. If anyone can do it, it's him." Parker folds her arms across her chest and glares up at Mack, who stares back calmly, towering over her. His face is set in determination, but it's obvious he's hiding tears._

"_Don't you think I want that?" he nearly yells. "Don't you think that if there was any chance of bring them all back, of bringing—" He stops, on hand grabbing fast to the tiny, silver locket around his neck that he'd gotten from Talia so long ago. "Of bringing," he tries again. He sighs. "She's dead, and there's no bringing her – or anyone else – back." Storming over to the couch, he lands on it so hard it seems to moan, verbalizing a threat of breaking down. He drops his head in his hands, the locket dangling wildly from his neck._

"_Oh, Mack…" Parker sighs, hanging her head. She walks over to the couch and sits down beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know how much you miss her; I miss her, too."_

"_No," he whispers quietly, "you don't. Not like… I don't… I can't…" He sighs, silent for a moment, an audible cry parting his lips as he tries to stifle tears. "I miss her so much. She was all I ever… and now she's… gone. You can't possibly understand that."_

_Peyton wonders how he can say that to Parker, someone who lost her whole family to evil – to her own cousin. Instead of voicing it, she watches the scene, watches Parker accept his criticism even though it was undeserved._

"_But she's gone now; they're all gone now. So now we've got to deal with the hand we've been dealt. Now we've got to get Chris back, and we've got to vanquish Wyatt. You know we can't do it without him."_

_Parker's hand slips from his shoulder and falls limply to her side. "You know Chris'll never go for that," unknowingly echoing Bianca's words._

"_That's what I said," the assassin jokes. She takes a few tentative steps forward._

"_Well, what other choice have we got?" Peyton wonders aloud, a faint smile of encouragement gracing her weary lips. She grips Bianca's hand tightly in hers, squeezing for security._

"_Well, Cherie will certainly be happy to hear about this," Parker murmurs with a heavy sigh. "You know how she's been campaigning to vanquish Wyatt and get this over with."_

"_I guess I'll go tell her and everybody else about it now. I won't be too long," she adds. After a nod from both Mack and Peyton, she walks out of the room._

"_And I," Bianca says with finality, "will go and find Wyatt."_

_Peyton nods. "Be safe, okay?" she begs, hugging the woman who's been like a sister to her. Releasing her a few seconds later, she takes a step back._

"_Good luck," Mack offers. "Be careful… come back safely, okay?"_

_Bianca nods as if she has some sort of say in the matter. "I will," she promises, a lie already in effect. With that, she shimmers to Wyatt._

_He smiles darkly as if he's been waiting for her all this time. "I knew you'd change your mind," he chuckles, and she conceals a shiver. She nods but says nothing._

"_We'll go back to the manor, you'll recite the spell, and you'll bring him back," he continues, smiling maliciously. "Maybe, if I'm feeling generous, I'll spare your lives."_

_Now Bianca speaks up. "You won't hurt him." His smile widens, and she can't help but flinch._

"_No," he agrees, "but you will."_

"_What do you mean?" Bianca demands nervously, barely managing to keep her cool and measured tone in place. She doesn't like the way Wyatt's smirking at her as if she's some sort of prize to be won._

"_When you go back, you are to take his powers. You are to bring him straight to me – understand?"_

"_But you won't hurt him," she quickly repeats. Inside, her mind races with a way out of this hole she's dug for herself._

"_No, but thinking you've betrayed him might just do damage enough."_

"_I'd never—" she starts but quickly bites her lip. She nods, knowing it's more important to save Chris – no matter what she has to do in order to protect him._

"_He will no longer be a threat to me without his powers," Wyatt says, pausing as he fishes something out of his pocket. "And now…" Bianca winces as Wyatt throws the potion at her feet. "…Neither are you."_

"_What did you do to me?" she demands, terror lacing her voice._

"_Making sure you're not a threat to me either," he explained calmly._

"_What?" she wonders but just as quickly stops as the potion begins to take effect. Her entire demeanour changes, and suddenly instead of being scared, nervous, and anxious she looks angry and fierce._

* * *

_Bianca crosses her legs in the darkened, stuffy back room of Piper's club, P3, and taps her fingers silently against the arm of the chair. The door creaks open, and a trickle of light filters into the room. A tall, narrow frame of a man steps into the room. Chris. Seeing the love of her life gives her the strength she needs to break out of the potion's hold._

"_Bianca…" Chris whispers, the word – he name – coming out as a question and a prayer. Just the way she remembered him._

_She climbs slowly to her feet, gliding over to him as he shakes his head in bewilderment. "I don't understand," he murmurs. "What are you doing here?"_

_Pressing a finger to his lips, she stops his gush of words. "Shh," she croons gently. "There'll be time to explain later." Unable to explain for the moment, she does the only thing she can do – she lies. Seductively, she drags her finger from his lips to his neck and then down his chest. "But for now," she purrs._

_She looks up at him, taking in every aspect of his perfection: his eyes, beautiful and suspicious; his hair; his lips; the way he smells – everything. She knows she might not get the chance to do so ever again._

_Then, she plunges her hand into his chest and activates her powers, praying for forgiveness at the same time._

* * *

_Suddenly, Bianca isn't so sure any of this was a good idea. Six demons surround her and Chris, clearly having been positioned there. _What if Wyatt knows about the plan?_ is Bianca's first concern. She hopes she doesn't die before she apologizes to Chris, before he gives her the chance to explain herself. Will he even take to her ever again after this?_

_A voice behind the demons echoes through the room, a voice Bianca will never forget. "Welcome home, Chris." The demons step back respectfully, and their master walks forwards._

"_Hello, Wyatt." Bianca wonders where his passion has gone, where his spirit has gone, where _Chris_ has gone. What happened to him in the past to make him act so dull?_

_A long pause of heavy silence settles over the room as Wyatt takes a few steps towards the two, a floorboard creaking under his feet. He nods to his minions and lazily says, "They're no threat to me." The demons know a dismissal when they see one and immediately shimmer out of the room. Bianca envies them, knowing she and Chris probably won't get the chance to do the same._

"_Et tu, Chris?" Wyatt wonders in disbelief. "Of all the people to betray me." He acts as if this is news, as if he doesn't know Chris has been against him all along. If it were anyone else, he'd be dead in a millisecond. But Chris? Wyatt loves Chris more than anyone, more than he loves himself. Even someone like Bianca can tell. He'd never vanquish Chris._

"_I didn't go back to betray you, Wyatt," Chris swears calmly. "I went back to _save_ you."_

_Wyatt glares at his brother. "Save me?" he laughs. "From what?"_

"_From whatever evil it was that turned you," Chris replies, still unnervingly composed._

"_That's always been your problem, Chris – stuck in the old good-versus-evil morass. I'm so _past_ that." He narrows his eyes as if trying to see through Chris and read his true intentions. "It's all about power; it's as simple as that."_

"_And whoever has the most power wins; is that it?" Chris demands, anger breaking through the carefully composed emotion mask often worn._

"_That's it," Wyatt answers, as if it's a really simple answer to an even simpler question. "That's why I keep this museum in tact – to remind everyone the power from which I was born and that which I possess."_

_Anger blossoms like a blood red flower and Chris storms forward. "Too bad the rest of the world isn't faring as well as your little _shrine_ here." He doesn't dare look around to see the revolting "museum" his once-beloved home has become._

_A sinister look passes over Wyatt's cold eyes. "You know, if anyone else tried what you tried, I'd kill them on the spot. But you…" He almost looks at Bianca, but his eyes don't quite reach her, as if he's disgusted with the thought of her. "I've forgiven Bianca; I can forgive you, too… if you promise never to cross me again." He speaks slowly as if that'll help the message sink in: _This is your last warning, brother.

_Chris stares at Wyatt, expression never changing. "I think you know me better than that," he almost sneers, throwing Wyatt's opportunity back in his face. He doesn't want Wyatt's compassion; he doesn't want _anything_ from Wyatt._

_This time, Wyatt's eyes meet Bianca's. "I thought you said you could talk some sense into him," he reproves angrily._

_Quickly, she hurries forward to Chris's side – to elbow him and tell him to shut the hell up so they can just get out of there. About to open her mouth, Chris cuts her off with a bitter, "Leave her out of this!"_

_Wyatt raises a hand and closes it into a fist, choking his brother telekinetically. Chris begins to cough and sputter, and Bianca can't help but gasp. She glares at Wyatt as if to attack, but ultimately she knows better. So, for now, she stands still, repeating over and over: _he won't kill him, he won't kill him, he won't kill him…

_Chris sinks to his knees, and suddenly Bianca isn't so sure anymore. Maybe, in the time it took her to retrieve Chris, Wyatt completely lost whatever semblance of a mind he still possessed._

_Wyatt smirks, clearly enjoying the pain he inflicted. "Pardon me?" he demands calmly, as if he's _not_ currently choking the life out of his only living sibling. He slices his hand through the air, and Chris flies painfully into a cabinet, breaking it. He yells._

_So does Bianca._

* * *

_TBC..._


	3. Scene Three

**Scene Three**

Wyatt stood behind the podium that held his family's most prized possession and sighed, flipping past yet another useless page in the Book for the umpteenth time. He looked over at Chris and Bianca and sighed a second time, wishing for the first time in his life that he had Chris's talent for strategy and research. He'd always been more the muscle of the operation while Chris had always more or less been the brains, the one to come up with plans and knowing what demon it was they were up against and always knowing exactly what to do next.

He was about to start pacing the floor again when Talia walked over to him, leaning against the front of the podium. "Well," she said, "I've done the best I can. Whether it's good enough or not..." She trailed off and shrugged, not feeling all that confident in her abilities. She couldn't help but feel undeniably helpless. Even having bandaged up Chris and Bianca's wounds, they still looked terrible. "Umm..." she started, trying to think of something, anything to help. Suddenly, as most great ideas do, an idea hit her. "Could we... transfer whatever it is? I mean, instead of healing them, just transfer the injury to some inanimate object, or like, an ant. Would that work?" She stuffed her hands in her pockets and shuffled over to the other side of the podium. Looking over the pages of the book, she wondered if it held the power to do such a thing, if such a thing would work at all.

Wyatt's eyes lit up at the prospect. "...There's a spell in here for that; I know there is..." Quickly flipping through the book, he began searching for the page he remembered from his childhood.

Once, when he was younger, he and all of his cousins had gotten a huge lecture on which spells not to use. Most teenagers got the sex talk from their parents (of course, he'd gotten one of those, too), but he'd gotten an altogether different type of talk. His aunts and his mother had told them all about the spells they'd used when they were younger and all about the problems those spells had caused. He remembered hearing about his aunts using a spell like that. Sure, it had backfired on them, but he was trying not to think of that at the moment. Besides, his aunts had been trying to fix a human disease; _he_ was trying to remove something that had been created demonically.

With frightening speed, Wyatt flipped through the Book once more, this time knowing exactly what he was searching for. "Here it is! Now we just need to alter it a little bit..."

"Alter it? Like how? Maybe I can help?" Talia asked.

"Well, the spell here is for awakening someone, what we need is a transference spell, so we'll just have to alter this one a little. I'll try and write a spell for it, but I'm not very good at it."

"Oh." Talia answered, still slightly unsure as to what he meant. "Well, maybe one of us can help." She winked at Jenna, even in this disastrous time, suggesting that she try and at least talk to Wyatt.

However, when Jenna just looked up at her from her post on the floor next to Chris, fear and embarrassment clear in her honey brown eyes, Talia looked down at the book and began reading. "So it says, 'Troubled blood with sleep's unease, remove the cause of this disease. Sleep eternal nevermore, and shift the source of illness borne, to this puppet whom none shall mourn.' Okay, so we could change it to..." Talia paused, thinking. "To 'troubled soul we now awake, so the body shall no longer break. Remove the fear and destroy the hate, for to this other we shall bind, this destruction of body and mind." She knew she hadn't really rewritten the spell, but had kind of written one of her own. She was actually surprised by how quickly she'd been able to come up with it. The words had just sort of popped into her mind one after the other. With a questioning look she asked, "Does that work?"

"Works for me," said Wyatt. Under normal circumstances, he would have complimented her on her abilities, but there wasn't even time for that. "So now we need a doll to transfer this to..."

He walked across the room to one of the many old chests stored in the back corner of the old attic. He rifled through a few of the old chests before finding what he wanted in the smallest one. Their mother had filled up a few of the old chests with things from her children's childhood such as toys, clothes, old report cards, and old art projects, and luckily in this case, old plushies. The one he finally found, an old and bedraggled plush rabbit, had been Prue's if he remembered correctly.

"Okay, Jenna —" he started, walking quickly back across the room to the Book and Talia.

Jenna cut him off. "Uh, Wyatt… Chris isn't…" She paused, biting her lip and rubbing furiously at her eyes, trying to stop her tears from cascading down her cheeks. She hated having to say this, especially when Wyatt was so hopeful. "He's not… I'm sorry…" Tears choked her voice, and she gave a tiny sob. "I'm sorry, Wyatt; he's gone."

For a second it looked like Wyatt was about to choke, but then he shook his head. "Doesn't matter – just means we have to work that much faster." He walked over to where Jenna was sitting and knelt down next to her. "Take this plushie," he said, handing it over to her, never once taking his eyes off his brother, "and put a piece of Bianca's hair on top of it or something. Then, put it on top of her and recite the spell with Talia. Once you're done, I'll heal Chris. Okay?"

Gravely, Jenna nodded and took the proffered stuffed animal.

"Ready?" she asked Talia as the younger witch crossed the floor to sit down next to Bianca.

Talia nodded a little too eagerly and tried to hide the spooked expression on her face as she plucked a hair from Bianca's head and handed it to Jenna. Jenna placed it on top of the doll and rested _that_ on Bianca's chest.

Talia grabbed Jenna's hand, held out the piece of paper with the spell, and began to chant:

"_Troubled soul we now awake  
__So the body shall no longer break  
__Remove the fear and destroy the hate  
__For to this other we shall bind  
__This destruction of body and mind."_

At first, nothing happened and Talia found herself holding her breath and crossing her fingers, praying, hoping.

Soon enough, the blood on the floor drew itself back into Bianca's body, and her breathing gradually became more and more stable. The doll that rested on her chest suddenly had a giant tear in its stomach and stuffing began to tumble down to the floor. Talia removed the doll and looked over at Wyatt.

Wyatt nodded and placed his hands over Chris' stomach again. He wasn't sure if his brother needed to be healed or if he would recover on his own, but he wasn't going to take any chances. The golden light spread out in waves from Wyatt's fingers down to Chris' body.

Wyatt held his breath, almost afraid to hope.

* * *

Chris groaned lightly, but he knew no one could hear him. He couldn't see anyone; he only heard frantic voices all around him. He wished he could tell Wyatt not to be afraid. Everything would be okay just as it always was. There was no need to worry; Wyatt would find a way to save the day, and they would laugh about the close call later. 

Suddenly, Chris was able to open his eyes. "Wyatt, I'm okay!" he cried, but Wyatt didn't look at him, and neither did anyone else. "Wyatt!" He waved his hands in front of his brother's eyes.

A feeling of dread filled him, and hesitantly he looked down at the floor, gasping when he saw his body crumpled there. Wait, was he, dying?

"No, no, this can't be happening. It's not my time, please," he looked around for the Angel of Death but saw none. He was alone, and for the time being he was glad about that.

_What if I were to just jump back inside my body?_ Chris asked himself. He reached out a hand to touch the limp form on the floor, hoping he would get sucked back in; but the body repelled him. He was stuck, a soul without a body, getting ready to move on.

He felt himself float towards the ceiling but shook his head determinedly. "I'm not going anywhere," he informed the Powers that Be firmly. "I'm not ready to die."

All of a sudden, he saw a dark form in the distance. So this was really it, the Angel of Death had come for him. He tensed: if he were to be taken, he would put up a hell of a fight first. However, when Chris squinted at the person, he realized it wasn't an angel of death at all, but his great-grandmother, the Matriarch of the family.

"Grams?" he questioned. "What are you doing here? You're dead," he pointed out.

With a sad smile, Grams nodded. "So are you," she said quietly. Extending her hand to him, she whispered, "Come."

Shaking his head fervently, Chris backed away and replied, "No way. I'm not ready to die. I'm too young to die. I don't want to inherit the Halliwell tradition of dying at such a young age. Grandma did it, and so did Aunt Prue and Aunt Phoebe; but it stops with them. I've decided to live to the ripe old age of infinity."

"Chris," But before she could argue with him, he felt an invisible force pulling him back towards earth. He didn't have time to ask Grams what was going on before he felt a sharp pain in his… well, everywhere actually. Every time he took a breath, his lungs burned with lack of use. When he took his first gulp of air, he realized that he was still alive; for no ghost had ever had the chance to breathe. He was still alive! He had missed another close call with Death.

"He's breathing," Jenna whispered excitedly, deliberately resting her hand on Wyatt's shoulder. She hoped he noticed it, or maybe she hoped that he didn't so he wouldn't think she was trying to get him to notice her. Quickly, she withdrew her hand and murmured, "He's going to make it."

Without turning around to look, Wyatt reached out and grabbed Jenna's hand and clung to it tightly. Though he'd never be able to explain it, he needed the comfort. Out of all the times his foolish little brother had nearly gotten himself killed, that had definitely been the closest.

"Unhh..." Bianca muttered. Everything was hazy and she felt like she had just been run over by a truck. Actually, to be more specific, she felt like she'd just had her insides ripped up and haphazardly put back together. Once the fog in her mind cleared, she realized something. "Chris!" she cried, immediately sitting up. And just as immediately she wished she hadn't. Holding her hand to her head, she let out a soft moaning sound.

"Hey, easy, lie down. I'm kinda thinking that you shouldn't get up so quickly after such an experience." Talia spoke softly, sweetly. She smiled kindly. She was just glad Bianca was okay.

"Doesn't matter," Bianca grumbled, still holding one hand to her head she stood up very, very slowly.

She wanted to run but, knowing it wasn't a good idea, walked slowly over to where Chris was lying. "Is he going to be okay? He's going to be okay, right?" The panic in her voice was clear. She didn't know what was wrong with him or what had happened to him, but she knew it could be nothing good.

Wyatt nodded, too tired for words. Letting go of Jenna's hand, he turned and shuffled over to the nearest wall, sliding down against it. He was so exhausted that his eyes kept closing without his meaning for them to. He wanted to stay awake to make sure Chris was okay, wanted to see him open his eyes before falling asleep, but it seemed like an extremely difficult task. In his sleepy state he motioned at Jenna to sit with him._ Now, _he thought drowsily,_ if only I could tell her that I like her._

Bianca slipped her hand underneath Chris's, intertwining her fingers with his. She sat next to him, her legs crossed, barely moving, and holding his hand tightly. "Please be okay," she whispered. She didn't really know what had happened to her or to Chris, and as of yet, no one had told her. But she'd ask (and probably yell) later. Right now, she just wanted to see him open those shining, green eyes of his and look at her.

* * *

_TBC..._


	4. Scene Four

**Scene Four**

Slowly, Chris's eyes fluttered open. Someone's head floated into his clouded vision, and he flashed a weak smile in her direction. She seemed so beautiful, even though he could barely see at all.

"Bianca," he murmured happily, "you're okay." He reached out to take her hand but realized that he couldn't move; he was too exhausted. Mustering up all his strength, he was able to sit up; but a wave of dizziness hit him the moment his head left the dusty attic floor. After a moment, his vision cleared; and he found himself in the room with three other people besides Bianca.

"Wyatt, are you okay?" Chris wondered nervously, glancing over at his brother's curled up figure by the wall. "Jenna," he asked the girl sitting next to Wyatt, "what's wrong with him? Did the demon get to him?"

"I think he got to all of us," she answered enigmatically.

"But what's wrong with my brother?" Chris demanded irritably. "Why is he acting like that when you and Bianca and Talia are acting completely normal?"

"Whoa, slow down there," Jenna replied with a forced smile. "I can only answer so many questions at a time, you know. I'm only human, after all."

"Okay," Chris said, persuading himself to remain calm. "So tell me what's up with Wyatt." He folded his arms impatiently.

"Well... it's kind of a long story," Jenna wasn't exactly sure she wanted to tell Chris the truth before she had spoken to Wyatt about exactly what Chris had to know. She didn't really want to be the cause of some enormous brotherly fight; she just wanted to do what was best for her new friends.

_Yes, _she realized in mild surprise. _These twisted freaks-of-nature are my friends._

"We've got time," Chris countered firmly, not budging from his spot. When Jenna looked away from Chris' annoyed gaze, he turned his intense stare on Talia. "Well?"

"Leave her alone, Chris. I'm just exhausted after saving your ass. Again." Wyatt smirked, still too tired to bother opening his eyes. Chris narrowed his eyes at his older brother, but Wyatt having quite literally just saved his life, he couldn't exactly think up a good come-back.

"I remember seeing..." Bianca started, but Chris, knowing what she was about to say, stopped her.

"Not now," he whispered firmly. Bianca nodded, deciding it best to talk to Chris about what had happened when Wyatt wasn't around – since what they'd seen, what they'd both seen, she knew, involved Wyatt being evil. Hearing that you were the Source of All Evil would be tough to take for anyone - and that went double for Wyatt.

Finally, Wyatt opened his eyes and stood up. He stretched, arching his back and stretching his arms so that his hands nearly hit the ceiling. "I don't know what you two are trying so hard to avoid talking about, but I've had enough drama for one night. I'll deal with you two in the morning. But right now, I'm starving. I'm going to go and get something to eat, I think." Pausing for a moment, he got an idea. "You can join me if you want to, Jenna." He smiled that innocent and sweet, little smile of his at her; and she couldn't help but return the look.

"Do you guys mind if I join you? I'm starving," said Talia. Jenna rolled her eyes but shrugged, and the three of them made their way downstairs, leaving Chris and Bianca alone in the attic.

"So…" Bianca murmured, resting her head against Chris's chest. "What did you see?"

Chris shook his head, closing his eyes; but Bianca would have none of that. "Chris, we're in this together. Who can we trust if not each other?"

"All right," he conceded with a heavy sigh. "I saw…" He bit his lip. "Wyatt."

"He killed me," Bianca whispered, knowing she would tell this to Chris and Chris alone. "And you – you died, didn't you?" He nodded in silent brooding. "Oh, Chris," she sighed, "what should we do?"

"We can't forget it," he replied, as much as he wished he could. "But we can't – please…" He couldn't say it out loud, couldn't make it real; but Bianca – being Bianca – knew what he was asking of her.

"Of course," she immediately answered to his immense relief. "I won't tell Wyatt. I promise."

* * *

In the foyer a torrent of white lights danced around playfully. When they vanished, Prue stood in their placed holding a duffel bag in one hand. "Hello?" she called into the quiet. "Anybody home?" Usually, when she returned from a visit with her parents, the manor was crowded with activity. Where _was_ everybody? Dumping her duffel bag in front of the door, she listened intently for any signs of life.

She found Wyatt, Talia and Jenna in the kitchen standing around the island counter over a carton of cookies and cream ice cream with three spoons.

"What'd I miss?" she asked, eyeing the ice cream.

"Oh, you mean besides a frightening near life-or-death experience, me figuring out how to trigger my powers, and Jenna causing it to hail inside the house? Not much," said Talia in between bites of ice cream.

"Who was it?" asked Prue, partly nervous and partly annoyed.

"Three guesses and the first two don't count," said Talia.

"It was Chris or Bianca, wasn't it?" said Prue knowingly.

"Both, actually," said Talia.

"I'll just be getting a spoon now," Prue sighed. Now she understood the reason behind the carton of ice cream and lack of bowls.

"Hey, Wyatt, aren't you like a professional chef?" asked Talia.

"Yeah, why don't you cook something? Ice cream isn't a very good dinner, you know," added Jenna. She looked over at Talia and they both cracked up laughing.

"Says the girl that ate almost half of the ice cream all by herself," Wyatt responded after taking the spoon out of his mouth.

"I didn't eat that much!" Jenna cried in mock-admonishment.

"Well, I hope you left some for me," said Prue. She walked over to the silverware drawer and pulled out a spoon.

"Yeah, there's still some," said Talia, directing a look over at Wyatt. "Wyatt hasn't managed to eat it all. Yet."

Wyatt looked over at her incredulously for a brief second before shrugging and going in for another spoonful of ice cream.

"So why is it we aren't eating normal food exactly?" asked Prue as she dug her spoon deep into the fast diminishing ice cream.

"Yeah, why?" asked Jenna. She couldn't help but laugh just a little.

"Because," said Wyatt, putting down his spoon, "it's nine o'clock at night. We've sort of passed by dinnertime, you know while we were busy saving my idiot brother and all, so I don't really feel much like cooking right now. Not that either of you offered to cook anything."

"Talia, cook something?" Jenna scoffed. "Only if you want your house burned down."

"Hey, I am not that bad!" Talia couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't entirely untrue. She had been known to burn water any time she tried to cook. Burning down a house wasn't that big of a jump, really.

"Speaking of our idiot brother, where is he now?" asked Prue.

"Well, my guess is he's either upstairs doing more research or he's upstairs doing Bianca," said Talia. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, yeah, they were both upstairs when we left," said Jenna, not quite catching on to what Talia had said.

Wyatt shuddered and nearly gagged. "I so did not need that mental image. Gross."

"Eww!" said Prue, laughing. "That's my brother you're talking about! That's sick."

"Well, they live together, don't they?" said Talia.

"Oh! Talia! That's gross!" Jenna shouted, finally catching on.

"Come on," said Prue as she picked up the now empty ice cream carton and threw it in the trash. "What if I'd said that Wyatt and Jenna were upstairs doing it? Wouldn't that gross you out?"

"I'm right here!" Jenna squeaked, her cheeks flushing crimson.

"No," Talia said, barely able to speak through her laughter, "But now that you mention it, maybe we should leave them alone down here. We could go watch a movie in the living room or something and turn the volume up real loud to tune them out."

Wyatt blushed. He stared down at the spoon he still held in his hand as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. But even doing that, it was obvious his face had turned a shade of red that was visible from space.

After she'd finished laughing, Prue looked over at Jenna and said, "Bye, you guys. Have fun." She nodded at Talia and they linked arms and walked out of the kitchen laughing and whispering.

"Well, uh, I, uh, uh," Wyatt stammered.

"Uh, good night, uh, Jenna!" Panicking, he reached across the counter and kissed her on the cheek.

Then, realizing what he'd just done, he stammered, "Oh, 'kay, don't really know why I did that, so, um, uh, I'm just gonna go now," and bolted from the room.

When Prue and Talia saw him practically flying towards the stairs, his face red enough to make a tomato blush, they laughed even harder.

Jenna just stood in the kitchen and raised her hand to her cheek. She smiled.

* * *

_End._


End file.
